The Limit
by Stellarsong
Summary: An unusual phenomenon sends Anakin to a world during a secret alien war and only the animorphs can help him get back home. But they've got a problem of their own. A problem that could reveal their deepest secret to their worst enemy.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Animorphs**

**A/N: This idea came to me while I was in Las Vegas and had just finished reading Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Animorphs: Elfangor's Secret. So I decided to see what becomes of it. I hope you enjoy and leave a review.**

**Also, this story takes place toward the beginning of Revenge of the Sith and Animorphs: The Extreme.**

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Red lights blocked out the white of the star field, illuminating the normal darkness of empty space. But this space was not empty. It was filled with crisscrossing beams of searing energy and the metallic forms of ships and androids.

Two Jedi Interceptors zoomed through the center of the battle, pursued by the enemy, droid tri-fighters with the clear intention to kill.

Young Anakin Skywalker manipulated the controls, using his enhanced reflexes to dodge a blaze of red that would have shot him out of control. The fighter missed, but tried again. Anakin turned a hard right, his Interceptor tilting sharply on one wing. The beam zipped past just under his ship.

With a quick motion, Anakin blasted the droid fighter and it went up in flames. The young Jedi allowed a faint grin.

"Look out," his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, said into his comm unit. "Four druids, inbound."

Then, responding, Anakin swerved to the side. The two Interceptors flew around the droid formation, then closed in on two of the nearest ships. One of the droids turned sharply as it saw them coming, attempting to follow. It collided with the other. Only two ships remained.

"We've got to split them up!" Obi-Wan said.

Anakin agreed. "Break left. Fly through the guns on that tower."

"Easy for you to say," Obi-Wan replied. He was heading straight for the gun towers on one of the enemy cruisers. "Why am I always the bait?"

"Don't worry. I'm coming around behind you," said Anakin. _Always calm. We can do this._

More fighters spotted Obi-Wan's ship and changed direction to intercept him. Lasers fired, barely missing him as he approached the tower. They were closing in fast.

"Anakin, they're all over me!" Obi-Wan's voice shouted in his ear.

Anakin's grin never left. "Dead ahead!" He almost felt as if he were enjoying this. "Move to the right so I can get a clear shot at them. Closing…Lock onto him, Artoo!"

Anakin's astrodroid, R2-D2, beeped in response. A bolt of energy seared through space, destroying one of the nearest tri-fighters. But the one that remained kept on Obi-Wan's tail, its accuracy improving until it would become deadly.

"I'm running out of tricks here," Obi-Wan said.

_Coming, Master, _thought Anakin and he brought his ship around. But the tri-fighter was fast and Anakin couldn't lock onto it.

"I'm going down on the deck." Obi-Wan. _H__e must have seen something_. Then Anakin saw it too.

"Good idea. I need some room to maneuver."

Obi-Wan skimmed the surface of a large battleship, avoiding shots from both the ship and the droid fighter.

"Cut right!" shouted Anakin. "Do you hear me? Cut right! Don't let him get a handle on you." He turned his attention to the blue astrodroid. "Come on, Artoo, lock on! Lock on!"

Obi-Wan's voice sounded a bit strained over the comm. "Hurry up. I don't like this." _Always complaining, _Anakin thought. _Come on, we can do this._

Then, just as the fighter jerked a little to the side… "We're locked on. We've got him." The tri-fighter went from being an agile fighter to being flaming metallic debris. "Good going, Artoo!"

"Next time, _you're _the bait," said Obi-Wan. "Now, let's find the command ship and get on with it."

But Anakin had spotted something. There were dozens of somethings actually. Small, yet brutal, broad and flat metal crabs with spindly legs. "Straight ahead. The one crawling with vulture droids."

"I see them." And then, dripping with sarcasm, "Oh, _this _should be easy."

Anakin tried to relax. "Come on, Master. This is where the fun begins!"

"Not this time." Obi-Wan's voice was serious. "There's too much at stake. We need help."

A moment later, responding to a call from Obi-Wan, a clone squad of ARC-170 starfighters formed up behind them.

At the same moment, the separatist droids flew from the hangar and attacked. Fire flew from Obi-Wan's Interceptor and one of the droids suddenly didn't exist anymore. He swung around to fire again.

"Anakin, you have four on your tail!"

"I know, I know."

"And four more closing from your left!"

"I know, I know!" _Doesn't he think I can take care of myself? _Anakin hit the controls and the ship dodged the incoming energy beams. _I've dealt with worse than a bunch of vulture droids, you know._ "I'm going to pull them through the needle."

The conning tower on the Trade Federation battleship would be enough to lose them. The opening was narrow. They'd crash and burn trying to follow him.

"Too dangerous," Obi-Wan objected. "First Jedi rule: Survive."

Anakin didn't even flinch when one of the droids fired dangerously close to his ship. "Sorry, no choice. Come down here and thin them out a little."

Then he aimed his Interceptor for the tower, aimed for that impossibly narrow slit that would either mean escape or death.

_Where is Obi-Wan_? he wondered, dodging a barrage of laser fire. The vulture droids were intent on their prey and were pursuing him. _Good. Now if I can get the rest to follow…_

There were a couple of high-pitched beeps. "Easy, Artoo. We've done this before."

Obi-Wan again: "Use the Force. Feel yourself through; the ship will follow."

_I know, I know. I'm not a Padawan Learner anymore. Don't you think that's something I would have learned a long time ago_? A prickle of irritation. Then Anakin tilted the ship, ignoring R2-D2's frantic beep, and made it through the opening. "I'm though!"

Several of the droids behind him smashed into the tower and burst into flame.

_Ha! Didn't expect that, did you?_

He noticed then that their allies, the clone starfighters, were surrounded by droids and were heavily outnumbered.

"I'm going to help them out!"

"No. They're doing their job so we can do ours. Head for the command ship."

Another prickle of irritation. Then Anakin swung his Interceptor around, obeying his Master. Chancellor Palpatine needed to be rescued. _That _was what they were here for.

Two more tri-fighters blocked his path, sending out missiles that sought out Anakin's ship. He turned swiftly, and then again, outmaneuvering them. They collided.

_So far, so good,_ Anakin thought grimly. _Now where is that blasted command ship?_

Suddenly another droid tri-fighter appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere. It fired.

Anakin's ship lurched up and away from the laser fire. R2-D2 squealed in alarm.

"Don't worry, we can handle it. We got this."

He swerved around to face the ship just as it was about to fire. "Lock on! Get him, Artoo!"

The tri-fighter fired.

The Jedi Interceptor also fired.

The two beams collided, then fire spread across Anakin's field of vision. Debris rained out in all directions, all that was left of a ship.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted into his comm as the debris and the fire cleared away. "Do you hear me? Anakin!"

But Anakin was no longer there.

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**Thank you for reading and please leave a review. If you took the time to read this, I'm sure you could spare a few seconds more with a review. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Jake**

My name is Jake. And I'm a peregrine falcon

I can't tell you my last name or where I live. If I did, my friends and I wouldn't be around long enough for you to come and pay a visit. See, we've got to be careful. The Yeerks are here.

They are from another planet. They are invading ours. But they're real subtle. They don't go around in flying saucers zapping humans into dust like on _War of the Worlds_. They're a whole lot scarier than that.

Slimy gray slugs are what they are, really. Parasites. They crawl into your ear, wrap around your brain. They see what you see, hear what you hear, only _they _are the ones who are in control. You can do nothing. That's what's happening right here on Earth. The controllers are everywhere. Makes sense yet?

Now back to me being a bird. It's the only defense we've got. The power to morphs into any animal we can touch, to be able to use their enhanced senses, their instincts. It's the power we were given by a dying Andalite, Prince Elfangor. My friends, Rachel, Marco, Cassie, and Tobias were there too, in an abandoned construction site. That's where we saw the aliens, the damaged spaceship. That's where our lives were changed forever.

Like, for instance, if that had never happened, I'd probably be at home right now or in the arcade playing video games with Marco. But instead I was high up in the sky, wings spread, drifting over the trees as a bird of prey.

We were looking out for Visser Three, leader of the Yeerk invasion of Earth. Our friend, the android, Erek – don't ask, long story – had told us of a new base the Yeerks were constructing. They were going to use it to set up some sort of satellite station. It would broadcast Kandrona rays all around the world. It could turn every backyard swimming pool into a Yeerk pool. That's not good. The Kandrona rays are what Yeerks need to survive. If they were successful, it would make our job a whole lot harder. We had to destroy that base.

And so that's why we were headed to Visser Three's secret feeding area. From there, we would morph into flies, hitch a ride on the Visser, and the Blade Ship would take us to the base. Wherever it was.

My friends were all around me at different altitudes, different positions. There was my cousin Rachel, a bald eagle; Marco and Cassie, both ospreys; Tobias, a red-tailed hawk; and the Andalite Ax, a northern harrier. We had to spread out because if some bird-watcher had been looking, he would have been suspicious. Birds of prey don't hang out together.

((Hey, guys, I think I found it,)) Tobias said. ((See that clearing in the middle of those trees?))

I had just spotted it. My sharp eyes missed nothing. It was just beyond a meadow, two blocks wide. There were tall, reptilian aliens standing to the side. Deadly, bladed Hork-bajir. And in the meadow was a four-eyed, centaur-like, blue-furred alien. Visser Three. The only Yeerk to have control of an Andalite. And with that, the Andalite morphing technology.

((Okay,)) I said. ((Each of us is going to land in those trees, one at a time at least a thousand feet apart, In at least five-minute intervals.)) We had to look natural. ((Rachel, you go first, then Cassie. Each of you keep an eye on those who land after you, so you can find them as easily as possible once you remorph. Tobias, you're last. Stay up top and keep a lookout until we've all landed.))

((Let's do it.)) I imagined Rachel would have grinned if she'd had lips.

((The three words I hate most,)) said Marco.

I grimaced inwardly. I wasn't looking forward to this mission anymore than anyone else. I just wanted to keep everyone alive long enough to get it over with and get back home. Sometimes it's hard being the unofficial leader. There are times I have to make decisions that could possibly mean the difference between life and death. It's not something I like to be responsible for.

Up in the sky, I floated, waiting for the right time. In the distance, I saw the shape of a bald eagle descending until she vanished behind the trees. Yet I could still see Rachel's white and brown feathers between the gaps in the branches. Then, farther ahead of me, down came the smaller form of an osprey. Cassie. She landed on the other side of the clearing and hid behind the wide trunk of a tree.

I waited some more. We each staggered our landings, hoping the Hork-bajir or Visser Three didn't look up and happen to notice some suspicious-looking birds. He knew by now to watch out. We could be anything. The snake in the grass, the fleas in his fur. The raptors soaring overhead.

At first I thought one of the Hork-bajir must have heard Cassie in the trees. But then I realized it hadn't, for it shook its head and glanced nervously over at Visser Three. Its head blades gleamed in the sun.

Enough time had passed. Setting my mind for the mission ahead, I swerved and tilted my wings. I drifted down from the sky. I aimed for a spot sheltered by a cluster of gnarled trees. If I was careful, I could remain hidden in there long enough to demorph, morph again, and move out.

I flared my wings as the ground approached to meet me and I landed on the soft grass. I tucked my wings into my sides and edged between the two trees, keeping close to their thick trunks. I kept my eye out for Marco.

And about five minutes later, he came in to land by the field. I could just catch a glimpse of him with my sharp hawk eyes. I needed to remember his location. I would lose sight of him as a human.

I switched my gaze to Visser Three and his guards. Apparently none of them had noticed the falcon or the osprey land nearby. Perfect.

I began to demorph.

It's a strange thing. Morphing is never logical, it doesn't make sense. Yet it works just the same.

The first thing to happen was that my fingers appeared.

SPLOOT!

Just sprang right out of my wing feathers. I could already curl them and felt really grossed out. I heard a dull groan as my bones turned solid, more dense. My beak softened and split, forming a mouth and a nose. My gums itched like crazy as teeth popped up and my tongue changed.

Then SHLOOP!

My tail was sucked back into my spine. My feathers flattened out until they no longer looked real. They turned pinkish and then their outlines disappeared altogether. I began to grow.

I just sprang up at an impossible speed, then tripped because my feet were still skinny talons. Then they, too, changed. Changed into feet and toes and ankles. Brown hair grew from my head. Then my eyes dimmed, I was nearsighted. Faraway sounds became muffled as I lost the falcon's acute hearing. Then I was completely myself once more. A teenage kid crouching behind the trees in a tight t-shirt and bike shorts. I wasn't wearing any shoes.

We couldn't morph clothing. Unless it was skintight. But we could definitely not morph shoes.

I paused to take a deep breath, a momentary rest. Morphing can be tiresome, especially when you do it continuously without stopping.

Then I tried to relax and focused my mind on the image of a fly. Small, gross, dull senses. My least favorite morph. Well, least favorite besides cockroach. I didn't want to think about it. But I had to. I focused.

That's when the spaceship fell out of the sky.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took me so long to update but I've had to write a Shakespearean story for english class and I've been drawing more and I just discovered a new book series I really like so I've been kind of busy. Anyway, here is the next chapter.**

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**Tobias**

It wasn't a big ship. Smaller than a bug fighter. Not as daunting as the Visser's Blade Ship. But maybe that's because it was crashing. A high metallic screech rang through the air, almost as if it were alive.

Then it was in the ground, ripping up the soil and grass as it came to a skidding halt.

I realized that I was still half-morphed to fly. A hideous-looking creature. I still had my russet tail feathers and my sharp eyes, but my beak was an ugly proboscis. My wings were hard and shriveled. I continued to watch.

Apparently the Visser had not been expecting this.

((You fools!)) he bellowed. ((What is that?))

Nope, not happy at all.

Then a part of the ship, a blue and white dome on the hull, just raised itself out of a little opening and landed on the ground as if it had a mind of its own. It beeped. A light blinked. I figured this must be some type of android.

But it looked nothing like the androids I knew of. They were called the Chee and appeared like two-legged, ivory and chrome dogs. Our friend, Erek, is one of them.

Then I noticed movement from inside the small ship. It opened and I stared. There was a human in there.

Fortunately, I still had my raptor eyes and I saw something else on the other side of the field. Something I wouldn't be able to detect with human eyes. Least of all, fly eyes.

Rachel was growing. Gradually. Brown fur sprouted from her face and spread down her back, completely covering her.

((Rachel!)) I called.

She flicked one newly formed, rounded ear in response but didn't stop. She couldn't see me with weak human eyes. I turned my attention back to the clearing.

Clearly the Hork-bajir were confused at the sudden appearance of a stranger crashing right in front of them. They began firing.

I expected to see the man from the ship burned to a crisp. But that's not what happened.

With lightning speed, a flame ignited. No, not a flame. It was long and glowed blue. It hummed as it whizzed through the air.

It was some type of sword, though it looked like a giant glow stick. It moved impossibly fast and deflected the Hork-bajir's shots. The dracon fire hurtled back at them and they had to move quickly to get out of the way. One of them wasn't fast enough.

Through the trees, Rachel's morph was nearly complete. She was a grizzly bear.

Well, so much for the mission. I began to reverse the morph. My wings filled out again, my beak formed. No trace of the fly was left. Now I was fully a red-tailed hawk.

I flapped my wings and managed to lift off the ground. The warm air caught me and I swept up over the trees. I wondered what Jake thought. He was kind of like our leader. Did he want us to fight this one?

There's an old saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." The man down there sure didn't seem to be on the Visser's good side. If he had one. So I was taking a chance.

I swerved sharply until I faced the clearing, now that I had gained some altitude. I angled my wings and shot straight down, raking my talons forward, aiming for the nearest Hork-bajir.

TSEER! I screeched and hit him hard, sailing passed and over the field. He howled in pain, clutching at the bloody mess that had once been his eyes.

Then Rachel came bursting through the trees on four big bear paws. She bellowed with rage.

((Andalites!)) the Visser cried.

I flew back into the air, ready to come down again. This time one of the guards had the sense to look up. He aimed his dracon beam. Straight at me.

TSEWW! TSEWW!

Red bolts fizzled in the air. I banked a hard right. The shots missed me by less than an inch. I could feel the heat as they passed.

Then, RRrrOoaRRrr! The terrifying sound came from the tree line as a tiger leaped into view. I felt relieved knowing Jake had decided to fight.

Or maybe he had just come because of me and Rachel.

At any rate, we had to fight. From the trees came a gorilla, a wolf, and an Andalite. They joined in the battle, teeth and claws, and a scorpion tail blade.

FWAP!

Man, that tail was useful.

I heard a flurry of beeps, frantic-sounding. It took me a second to realize they came from the little blue android. Then I saw that it was rocking back and forth, it's red circular light blinking in the direction I should have been looking.

A Hork-bajir stood there, dracon beam raised. I veered to the side but the shot burned some of the feathers on my right wing. I could smell smoke. And then I was plummeting to the ground.

In desperation, I tried to lift up and only did so with difficulty. I could still fly. But my wing was weak. I wasn't flying steady.

((Tobias!)) Rachel. She'd seen me lose control.

((I'm okay,)) I reassured her as I circled once more, looking for a target.

ZZZzzhhhmmmmmMMM

ZZzzzzppp

The glowing, blue sword was still humming through the air. Only this time it wasn't deflecting dracon blasts.

It was slicing through Hork-bajir.

Just slicing through them like warm butter. They must have tried a group attack, thrusting at him with their razor blades. It didn't work.

And as I struggled to stay in the air, I had to give the guy credit. He was fast. Way fast. As if he anticipated each move before it was made.

The Hork-bajir were trying a different strategy now. They came at him from all sides. How could he ward them all off?

I swooped down again, careful to stay out of range of that blue sword. I dropped onto one of the Hork-bajir. He tried to slash at me with his wrist blades. He missed.

I didn't.

Then I was back in the air again. From here, I could see my friends. Marco had just slugged one of the guards in the face, sending him sprawling. Jake was biting into a Hork-bajir arm until he dropped his weapon. Cassie's gray fur was matted with blood. A large gash opened on her side.

I saw a pair of Hork-bajir rushing up behind her as she fought with a third. I prepared to help.

FWAP! FWAP!

They both crumpled to the ground.

Ax was trotting past them to help Cassie, his tail raised.

The fighting looked awful.

((Everyone bail!)) Jake yelled, barely avoiding a Hork-bajir blade. ((There are too many of them. Get out of here!))

Then he sailed over a fallen guard.

Marco hit the nearest alien on the head, knocking him unconscious, before turning toward the trees.

The man with the glowing blue sword hadn't heard the call. I flew overhead. ((Hey, you!)) I said in thought-speak.

He raised his head skyward. I was a little unnerved that he had known where the voice came from. He looked straight at me.

((We gotta get out of here. Follow me.)) Then I turned and headed for the trees. Behind me, the man hesitated a moment before deciding to come along.

((Get them!)) I heard Visser Three yell from the clearing. ((And the Yeerk who fails me I'll feed to the Taxxons!))

I could hear the Hork-bajir barreling through the trees. I caught a glimpse of dark fur below. Then I lost track of my friends completely. I hoped they were ahead of me.

I sensed that I was faster than the Hork-bajir. The guy below me wasn't as fast, but he was agile and still managed to stay ahead of them. Eventually we outran them.

There was a spot of orange below the trees. Jake. And Marco was with him. And Ax.

((Tobias!)) Jake called. Worry edged his voice. ((Where are Rachel and Cassie?))

I felt my blood run cold. Where were they? I didn't know. Were they okay? I didn't know.

At that moment, a grizzly bear emerged from the forest. Rachel's fur was matted with blood and a whole patch of fur on her shoulder was missing.

((Jake!)) Rachel cried. ((They've got her! They've got Cassie!))

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**Oh, no! What will they do next? Leave a review and I'll update so we can all find out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Rachel**

I couldn't believe it. They'd caught one of us. Cassie's my best friend. And now I didn't know what was going to happen.

We'd been the last to retreat. Naturally, I still wanted to fight. And Cassie had needed help. Her side was slashed and she was tiring. But she had managed to stumble into the woods and still the Hork-Bajir came after us. They shot at us.

I heard a yelp and turned to see Cassie had been shot. The Dracon blast just grazed her haunch but already the fur was stained with blood.

Roaring, I charged the Hork-Bajir who had fired, but then there were more. Too many of them to fight. I didn't know where they all came from.

One of them slashed at my face with his wrist blade. It cut deep and I jerked back in pain. I lifted a massive paw to swipe at him, but I was blinded. Blood trickled into my already near-sighted eyes. I didn't know where Cassie was.

((Cassie!)) I yelled, before biting down on one of the Hork-Bajir. He howled and I felt the sting of his blades along my muzzle. Still, I didn't let go. I could taste the bitter salt of blood in my mouth.

((Cassie!)) I tried again.

((Rachel!)) she called back, but her voice was weak, fading. ((You have to get out of here. They're killing you!))

((No way!)) I replied. ((I'm not leaving you.))

Then I drew back my huge bear paw and lunged forward, punching another Hork-Bajir in the face. Something a real grizzly bear would never do.

I couldn't see. I couldn't see behind the veil of red that was my own blood. The Hork-Bajir were dark smudges all around me.

((Cassie, come on!)) I yelled.

((I'm coming!))

I turned without thinking, bowling over another Hork-Bajir in my path. Then I felt white hot pain in my shoulder. I smelled burnt flesh.

I felt terrible for leaving the battle, for running away, but Jake was right. There were too many of them. We could not possibly win this one. Even as much as I didn't want to admit it. Razor blades slashed at my haunches as I lumbered away. The trees were tall, dark pillars in front of me, covered in patches of green. I couldn't see very far.

((Rachel!))

I turned at the voice, almost crashed into a Hork-Bajir. He raised his Dracon beam.

I didn't give him a chance to shoot.

((Cassie!))

Razors sank into my back. I roared and spun around.

((Cassie, where are you?))

But she did not answer.

Then I caught sight of a motionless gray mass at the very edge of my vision. Four brown blurs – Hork-Bajir – surrounded her.

Another searing pain. I dropped to my forepaws. This felt strange. I was tired. The grizzly never got tired.

I heard someone call my name. I think it might have been Jake.

Then, pursued by the Hork-Bajir, I charged blindly through the trees. I didn't know where I was going, I only knew that the Hork-Bajir were falling behind.

I burst through the thicket and almost ran right into the guy we'd seen fighting the visser's guards. Then I found Jake. He and everyone else were safe. Everyone except one.

((Jake! They've got her! They've got Cassie!))

Then I was slumping to the ground, blood pumping from my wounds.

((Rachel!)) Jake. His voice was urgent, faraway. ((Demorph! Do it now!))

I didn't have the strength to protest. Gradually, I shrunk, my ears slid down the sides of my head. My long claws turned into useless fingernails. Then suddenly, I could see. The blood was no longer blinding me. My human eyes could see better than those of a grizzly. And now the effects of the battle were clear. Jake held one of his forepaws off the ground. A huge slash stretched across Marco's chest. Tobias's feathers were ruffled. Even Ax had plenty of scratches from Hork-Bajir blades and Dracon fire.

When I returned to my human body, my strength came back. I leaned against the trunk of a tree, trying to catch my breath.

Then I started the morph again.

((Rachel! What are you doing?)) Jake demanded.

My hands grew. Black claws sprouted from my fingers.

"Cassie's still back there," I said. "I'm not just going to leave her." My skin tingled with growing fur.

((Rachel, you can't. You're already tired from morphing. There are too many of them.))

I rounded angrily on Jake. "So you're just going to let her die? Or worse, they'll make her a controller. Then none of us would be safe."

Jake didn't back down. ((We'll find a way.)) Deep down, I knew he was hurting. Cassie's sort of like his "girlfriend" though he'll never admit it. But at that moment, I didn't care. I didn't want to care. Cassie needed our help.

But Jake was demorphing, turning into a human. Marco hesitated, but did the same.

"She's strong," Jake said once he was fully human. "We just have to find out where they're taking her."

"Before her two hours are up," I added. Reluctantly, I reversed the morph. I was now human.

Jake looked grim. "Yeah."

"This is just great," Marco muttered. "This mission was a complete disaster. First some guy appears from a spaceship from out of nowhere and we gotta fight Visser Three instead of sneaking off after him to his new, sort-of-secret base. We can't even win the battle and Cassie gets caught. So far, this day's gone real well," he said sarcastically.

I would normally have gone over there and made some sharp remark. But I didn't feel like it. Not this time. I had something else on my mind.

The guy from the spaceship was standing under the line of trees. I marched over to him.

"Alright, what's the deal? You come from out of nowhere with a weird-looking android and a glowing sword. You're not freaking out like any normal person would," I accused. "Who are you?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Anakin**

"My name is Anakin," I said.

The blond girl still looked a little suspicious. "But where're you come from?"

"Rachel…" the one called Jake said in warning, but Rachel ignored him.

"From very far away," I replied. "Obi-Wan and I were on a mission just before I ended up here." The others looked a little confused. "You're not of the Republic, are you?"

This time the kid, Jake, stepped forward. "No, we don't even know about any Republic or anything. How'd you get here?"

Honestly, I had no idea. "I'm not sure. The last thing I remember is being fired on by a tri-fighter and at first I thought I'd been hit, except that the ship stayed intact. I think I might have taken out that tri-fighter though," I added as an afterthought.

((You may have passed through a _Sario __Rip_.))

The voice didn't startle me, but I turned to seek out the source. It did not sound like any I had heard before and it echoed in my mind.

The being that stepped forward was not humanoid or at least, not _wholly _humanoid. He was a quadruped with blue and tan fur. He had a humanoid torso and head, but for the fact that he had no mouth and an extra pair of eyes were mounted upon flexible stalks atop his head. His tail looked powerful, with a menacing blade at its tip.

I focused on him, showing little concern. I had faced far stranger and more menacing beings than him before.

"A _Sario Rip_?" The term was unfamiliar.

((Yes,)) said the Andalite. ((A _Sario Rip_ is a tear in the fabric of the space-time continuum. It can be opened only through the release of a highly concentrated amount of energy. It is possible that one was opened when you and the other ship fired simultaneously.))

I nodded. It made perfect sense to me. There was only one problem. "So how do I get back?"

((Of that, I am not sure,)) Ax replied. ((We learned a bit about the _Sario Rip _in school, but I may not have been paying much attention at the time.)) Now he seemed almost embarrassed, shifting his weight a little.

"Do you remember anything about them that could help?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm. I couldn't believe I was about to be stuck here because some youngling hadn't paid attention in school.

((Well,)) he hesitated. ((I can't be certain. As I've said, I may have been distracted. You see, there was this female…))

The one called Marco snorted. "We've all heard this story before. He wasn't paying attention to class because he had a crush on some girl."

One of Ax's stalk eyes swiveled around to glare at Marco.

I was about to say something when a couple noises caught my attention. One was a rapid series of beeps from R2-D2. The other was a rustling of feathers overhead. They occurred simultaneously.

"Tobias says there are more Hork-Bajir coming," Jake said.

"Yeah." I'd already received the same warning from R2-D2.

((Come on, we gotta get out of here.)) The animal above me, a red-feathered avian I would later learn was called a red-tailed hawk, swooped onto another branch, his sharp eyes trained on the aliens in the distance.

I had no choice but to trust these strangers. Tobias remained airborne, keeping an eye on the Hork-Bajir. I followed the group soundlessly, R2-D2 rolling along beside.

By now, I could sense the presence of the enemy behind us. The Force felt weaker in this world, but I could feel it just the same. And it told me the Hork-Bajir were losing the trail.

((I think we've lost them,)) Tobias finally said. We continued along further into the forest before halting under a thick grove of trees. When we stopped, he perched on a low branch and I looked up at him. Wondering how a small group of kids could change their shape so easily to fight the aliens.

I'd once chased a shape-shifting bounty hunter through the crowded streets of Coruscant. But that was my only encounter with any shape changer. She'd tried to kill Padme, so I hadn't felt much pity when she'd died, killed by a poison dart. These shape-shifters were an entirely different kind.

I noticed that the bird had fixed his intense gaze of Jake. Then, as if responding to a silent voice only he could hear, Jake gave a small nod. Then he turned to face me.

"The Yeerks have seen you. They know who you are," Jake said. "That means they can't let you escape. They'll do all they can to find you and prevent you telling anyone. And if they catch you, they catch us."

"These Yeerks," I said. "Who are they? What are they doing here?"

"They're parasites," Jake began grimly. "And they're trying to control the whole human race." He went on to explain about the controllers and Visser Three, the Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, and the Andalites. He briefly told of how he and his friends had acquired the Andalite morphing technology and had been fighting the Yeerk invasion of Earth ever since.

Earth. Such a strange name for a little planet mostly covered in water.

I had the feeling this Jake wasn't telling everything he knew, but I didn't press him for information. All I wanted was a way out of here. I'd prefer going back to what I knew, to piloting a starship and honing my Jedi skills, than facing a secret enemy who could delve into your mind and discover your deepest secrets.

I wondered how Obi-Wan was doing. He probably thought I was dead and would be trying to rescue Chancellor Palpatine without my help. And if I could never find a way back, I would be dead to him. To him and to Padme. It was the thought of her that made me grit my teeth in determination. If there was any chance of returning home at all, I'd do it for her.

Tobias's gaze flickered to me for a moment before going back to Jake. ((Um, Jake?)) he said. ((Before we left the meadow, um, I think they were taking that ship.))

My Jedi Interceptor?

"They must have plenty of ships of their own. Why would they want Anakin's?" Jake asked.

((The Yeerks get almost all their technology from other races,)) said Ax. ((They will study the ship and most likely take it apart. It is new technology to them and they want it.))

Take it apart? How could I get back home to Padme without a ship? Thinking of my wife made me all the more anxious to get home.

"We'll have to get to it before they have that chance," I said.

"And what about Cassie?" Rachel spoke up. "They'll make her a controller and then they'll find us."

"You're right," Jake agreed. "And I'm betting the ship and Cassie will end up in the same place. We have to find that place soon. Within less than two hours."

I didn't ask what would happen after two hours.

* * *

**Feel free to leave a review and I'll try to be more consistent in my updating now that I don't have to worry about school. Have a great summer vacation, everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Cassie**

The first thing I was aware of was the intense pain in the side of my head. It throbbed as if my heart had been relocated and jammed into my skull, making the worst headache in the history of headaches. I whimpered in pain. The sound was a high pitched whine, but very faint. Weak.

I could also feel something warm and sticky on my side. My ribs burned. I scrabbled at the cold metal under me.

Cold metal? That's when I realized something was wrong.

My eyes snapped open and I immediately regretted doing so. It felt like a light bulb had exploded in my head. Like one of those really old cameras of last century. The ones with the flash and the sound of someone breaking glass onto concrete from a two story building and watching the shattered fragments skid along the parking lot.

I squinted until my eyes could get used to it. My head hurt even more.

I looked down and saw my bloodied paws.

Wait. Paws?

That's when it hit me. The battle with the Hork-Bajir. The crashed spaceship. The guy with the glowing, blue sword. Rachel, a wounded grizzly bear, fighting her way to help me. Then the intense pain as something hit me in the back of the skull. Then…nothing. I must have been knocked out.

It hit me again, this time with more force. How long had I been in morph?

Panic gripped me and I focused on my human body. On the human me. My paws began to turn into hands, the toes becoming fingers.

Wait! Where was I?

I was in some kind of metal cage. Trapped.

How could I be so stupid? I quickly reversed the morph until I was fully wolf again. I could have just given away to the Yeerks that I was human!

And if they knew I was human, they'd soon realize my friends were too. Then it wouldn't take them much to find out who we really are.

Then the only resistance on Earth would be no more.

Okay, calm down. I had to think, had to find out where I was. The cage I was in wasn't very big. It was a plain old animal cage, made of some kind of metal. The room looked like it hadn't been used in a long time. The walls had once been painted yellow but the pain was faded and peeling. An empty desk had been shoved in the far corner, covered in a fine layer of dust. Cobwebs adorned one of the corners of the ceiling. I wondered where the intense light had come from and soon got my answer.

A bare light bulb hung from the ceiling, an on/off chain dangling beside it.

There was only one window, but it was boarded up, only the slightest of cracks letting in minimal sunlight. There was a door on the opposite wall from the cage I was in.

I tried to stand and realized I could. It didn't feel like I'd broken any bones. I was just badly scratched up. Not to mention the killer headache.

I thought about what had happened to my friends. I hoped they were okay. I also wondered how long ago I had first morphed. Was it an hour ago? Thirty minutes? Five days? If I didn't demorph in the next five minutes, would I be stuck in morph forever, like Tobias? I tried not to think about it, but I was scared.

The door opened.

And there was someone I recognized. A human controller named Chapman. Our vice-principal. He'd sacrificed his freedom for the freedom of his daughter.

"So you're finally awake," the Yeerk in him said. He looked at me with a sneer of contempt. "Visser Three is very pleased to have you here. But you will not last long if you do not comply to his demands." He pulled out the desk chair and sat in it, still watching me.

I said nothing. I knew that no matter what I said, it would make no difference. I was also afraid I'd give something away. The human Chapman might recognize my voice. The Yeerk would see his thoughts and know right away who I was.

"Demorph."

I did nothing. I continued to glare at him through wolf eyes.

"The visser is very clear," Chapman said. "You have less than two hours to demorph and he just may spare your life."

Yeah, right. Turn me into a controller is what he had in mind.

"You know as well as I that once the two hour limit is up you will forever be trapped in that weakened body. So of course, you will be of no more use to the visser and he will simply dispose of you. Painfully."

I tried to control my fear, but what he said was something I had known already. The visser wanted us as controllers and that way the only resistance on Earth would be crushed. But trapped in the body of an animal, that wouldn't happen. So I had two alternatives. I could demorph, revealing myself as a human, and become a slave to the Yeerks, betraying my friends to the same fate and giving up on the people of Earth.

Or I could die.

I knew not to give too much hope on the third alternative. That my friends would find me and we'd fight our way out together. They probably didn't know where I was. I didn't even know.

But by the look of the place, it hadn't been occupied in a long time.

"Why don't you speak, Andalite?" Chapman said. "Defy us as much as you want, you can't win."

Still I didn't speak. I was afraid to.

"Perhaps the visser will change your mind." Then he got up and was out the door. I heard it lock behind him.

I shuddered inwardly. My mind was on fast forward. How long would I be alone? Could I demorph then morph to fly and make my escape? Was there enough time?

Obviously not because right then the door opened again.

And in came who I least wanted to see. He looked very much like Ax, but older and menacing. There was like some sort of _something _about him that made you know he was one of the bad guys. For in that enslaved Andalite mind, there was a Yeerk.

Visser Three.

((You will demorph,)) he said, approaching my cage with a sense of triumph. He had captured one of the so-called "Andalite bandits." ((Or you will die.))


	7. Chapter 7

**Marco**

We were all in Cassie's barn. The six of us. I couldn't help thinking it should have been seven.

At that moment, the barn was pretty quiet except for the snuffling of a fox and the annoying call of a raven. We were all sitting on bales of hay except for Ax, who was in his true form, and Tobias, who perched in the rafters to keep a sharp look out.

"How long ago did we morph?" Rachel asked.

((Approximately forty-seven of your minutes,)) Ax replied.

I sighed in exasperation. "How many times have we been over this? They're not _our_ minutes, they are _everybody's _minutes."

((Now it has been forty-eight of _your _minutes.))

Okay, this was staring to bug me. He was doing it on purpose.

"I say we do our battle morphs and just get in there as fast as we can and get Cassie out." Rachel, of course. "Then we'll have the advantage of surprise on our side."

"You're forgetting something," Jake said. "We don't even know where she's being held."

From a corner of the barn, the strange little droid gave off a rapid series of beeps.

"We can hope she's at the same place as my ship," Anakin spoke up. "Artoo put a tracking device on it."

"Okay, then what are we waiting for?" Rachel demanded. "We have less than two hours before she's stuck in morph and you can bet those Yeerks won't let her live long after that."

Suddenly there was a flutter of movement in the rafters. ((Guys, we've got company. Cassie's mom's coming.)) Tobias warned. ((Ax, you've gotta hide!))

"Quick, in there." Jake swung open the door to an empty horse stall and Ax stepped inside. He stood at the very back and lowered his head and tail to make himself as small as possible.

"What about them?" I asked, jerking my thumb at Anakin and the little droid he called R2-D2. "It's kinda obvious they're not from around here."

"You're right," Jake agreed, then turned to the guy dressed in the strange black clothes with the light saber at his belt. "You're going to have to join Ax. Cassie's mom's pretty cool, but I don't know what she'd make of you two."

((Hurry, she's almost here,)) said Tobias.

Anakin didn't object. He just nodded slightly and crouched in the corner of the stall, followed by the astrodroid. He almost vanished in the shadowy corner.

Jake had just closed the stall door when Cassie's mom came in.

At once, we all looked to the entrance, trying to look innocent.

"Hey, guys," Cassie's mom said. "Have you seen Cassie?"

"Oh, um," Jake started. "She's not here."

The woman let her eyes scan the room. "Well, I can see that. But do you know where she is?"

I quickly stepped in. "She just left a couple minutes ago. She went that way." I waved my hand in the general direction of the woods. "I think she heard a skunk call for help or something. You know Cassie," I added with a grin.

"Yeah," her mom agreed. "Well, when she comes back, let her know I was looking."

"Yeah, we'll do that," said Rachel.

She turned to leave. Then stopped. Glanced over at the closed stall.

We all held our breath. I hoped Ax was keeping his head down and looking as much like a pony as possible. Although I'm sure she would notice an extra horse that wasn't theirs. I hoped she didn't.

Then she shrugged and left.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Alright, first we've got to find out where they've got her and hope the ship is in the same place," said Jake as the three moved out of the stall.

Anakin turned to the droid. "Where's the ship, Artoo?"

R2-D2 responded with a chirp and a small panel opened in its side. It projected a hologram into the air and Anakin studied it. It looked like a kind of three-dimension grid with searching, blinking lights.

It didn't look like anything to me.

"We've got it," Anakin said as the blinking light zeroed in on a location.

"So where is that?" Jake asked, pointing to the grid.

"Coordinates are northern latitu –"

"Before you waste your breath, speak English please," I cut him off.

"Artoo, bring up a display of the immediate area."

The image changed to show an image of Earth. Then it zoomed in until finally it stopped.

I would never forget all those half-finished buildings, the clutters of debris. That was the place where we met the dying Andalite prince. That's where our lives were changed forever.

"The abandoned construction site," I said.

"Alright," said Jake. "We've gotta be quick. But also careful. It wouldn't do any good for Cassie if we were captured too. We should morph fly in order to sneak in and find out where she's held."

"No time." Rachel shook her head. "We should use force to get her out. They've probably set a guard to make sure she doesn't try to escape."

Usually I'd make some extremely clever remark about Rachel's readiness to get us all killed but even I was surprised at what eventually did come out. "I think she's right." Wow, that's a first. Usually I'm not that big on suicide. "She's got around an hour left and they could be torturing her in there for all we know."

They all looked a little surprised that I'd backed Rachel. Then Jake gave a small, reluctant nod.

"Fine, we don't have much time. So we'd better go now. Anakin, you should probably stay here."

But the guy shook his head. "I'm coming with you. Who else is going to fly that ship out of there?" He allowed a grin, one that reminded me of Rachel.

"Then Ax will go with you to look for it." Jake knew there was no time to argue. We all did. "The rest of us will look for Cassie."

We were all in agreement. The five of us Animorphs left the barn as birds of prey. R2-D2 stayed hidden in the barn. Ax flew over Anakin and the guy ran through the trees. He was fast, but he still couldn't keep up with flying raptors.

((There it is!)) Tobias called after we'd been flying for awhile in tense silence. I looked ahead and with sharp bird eyes, I saw it. The construction site. One of the buildings, a rather large one, had a lit window. Two human controllers stood outside. This was one of the more complete buildings.

We landed behind the rubble nearby. We began to demorph.

((Remember,)) Jake said even as he lost his feathers. ((We're not here to fight, though we'll have to. So just get in and come back out once we find Cassie. No staying longer than we need to.)) I wondered if that last command was aimed at Rachel.

When we had demorphed, we were a group of kids huddled behind a pile of rubble. Barefoot, wearing bike shorts or, in Rachel's case, a leotard. Tobias was his hawk form and Ax was Andalite. Anakin clutched the handle of his light saber. He seemed so calm, despite the imminent battle. I had no doubt he was used to this stuff by now.

I took a deep breath. Let it out. And morphed.

Course black hair sprouted from my back. My chest and face turned to rubber. I began to grow and muscle layered upon muscle, incredibly strong. I was a gorilla.

The first thing we had to do was get past the guards. I felt the terrible strength I possessed and took control of the normally peaceful mind. I knuckle-walked out from our hiding place and approached the guards.

((Andalite pizza delivery,)) I said.

The guards jerked.

"Andalite!" one of them said in surprise. Then he raised his Dracon beam.

((Or not.))

I pulled back my arm and sent my fist sailing into his face.

There was no going back now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Cassie**

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. The visser's main eyes were focused on me, intent. Triumphant. But no, I couldn't give him what he wanted. To do that would be sacrificing my freedom and that of my friends and the only hope for Earth would be gone.

I had no idea how long I'd been in morph. It could have been an hour. Two hours. Was I trapped in morph already? No, I didn't think so. If I was, Visser Three would have just killed me.

((You have seventeen Earth minutes to decide what you will do. Demorph or die,)) the visser said.

I was scared. But I knew already what I would do. I couldn't morph. So instead, I let my own consciousness ebb away. I let the wolf mind take over. The wolf was angry at the Yeerk for imprisoning it. It was confused by the strange scents and sounds. But it wasn't afraid. It just wanted to get away.

I padded to the far side of the cage. Sniffed the bars. Growled low in my throat. I was cut off from everything I knew, from the wild. I was alone. I had to get to the pack, let them know I was here.

I hated being confined. I needed to run, to hunt with the pack.

((Stubborn Andalite, aren't you,)) the voice said. Meaningless. I ignored it. ((Such a waste.))

My wolf mind saw things. A construction site. Others were there. A ship fell from the sky. The hatch opened and a creature stumbled out. His last act while he was dying was to make sure Earth had some hope against the Yeerks.

I realized these memories were strange. They weren't mine. Or maybe. Yes, of course! They belonged to Cassie. To me, not the wolf.

I tried to focus my thoughts on the memories, tried to be brave.

I was a dolphin. Swimming deep down into the ocean. Ahead of me was a large dome where Ax had been stranded.

My mind wandered. Images flitted around randomly. I was with Rachel at the mall. In the food court having lunch. Just two normal kids with nothing more to worry about than that essay on Abraham Lincoln that was due in history class. Rachel was arguing that my pants were too short, that I needed to go shopping. I didn't see why.

I remembered the first time I had ever morphed. I had been nervous, patting the neck of one of the horses and acquiring his DNA. The first time was the strangest thing I had ever experienced. My legs grew longer and my arms. My knees changed direction and I fell flat on my face. Then my nose was growing out and out and out and brown fur sprouting from my back, spreading to the rest of my body. Rachel looked on in absolute shock and excitement. I think the weirdest thing was having all the horse's instincts. It was a pretty simple, sturdy mind. I had no problem controlling that, but mainly the horse just wanted to run. To be free. To gallop over the grass and race past the trees.

The wolf, too, wanted freedom. I could feel it. I could smell something similar to a horse, an equine, but different.

((Two minutes,)) Visser Three said. ((and you will be trapped in morph.))

Sudden panic. Stuck as a wolf? For what? One minute? One second? Would he then fry me with a Dracon beam? Or bring me to the Taxxons?

Demorphing now didn't seem like such a bad idea. Especially if the gruesome alternative was to be eaten by Taxxons. Except that it would betray my friends. I had to accept that.

I heard something outside the door. A Hork-bajir burst in.

"Visser-"

((WHAT?)) the visser raged and immediately the Hork-bajir cringed.

"The Andalite bandits have infiltrated this place," the Hork-bajir breathed.

Whoosh!

An Andalite tail blade stopped less than an inch from the controller's serpentine neck.

((You have failed me. All of you,)) said Visser Three. ((I will deal with you later but for now, you will guard this filthy Andalite. And if it escapes, you will be the Taxxons' next meal.))

The Hork-bajir gulped.

Visser Three galloped out of the room. How much longer did I have? I closed my eyes.

Then, BANG!

The door was thrown off its hinges. My eyes snapped open. I couldn't believe it! There, standing in the doorway, was a big, hairy gorilla.

((Thought you could use some help.)) Marco.

The Hork-bajir raised his Dracon beam. A big fist smashed into his face and he was out cold.

((Hurry, start demorphing!)) Marco cried.

I didn't need any more encouragement. I closed my eyes and concentrated. I tried to push my panic aside. What if it was already too late? Was I trapped?

I felt a tingly sensation and realized I was growing. The toes of my front paws lengthened into fingers. My knees reversed direction. My bones grinded together and groaned as they grew. Black hair sprouted from my head at the same time as gray fur vanished into my skin. Something felt wrong. I was getting tired. The morphing was hard, it was like trying to push my way through Jell-O, whereas regular morphing was like water.

I struggled through the morph.

Schlooooopp!

My tail sucked back in. My muzzle flattened. Ever so slowly, my ears slipped down to the sides of my head. Until finally the morph was complete.

I was human.

I let out a breath of relief.

((Come on, we have to go.))

"What took you so long?"

((Oh, you know, I stopped to get some pepperoni pizza on the way here. I saved some for you,)) Marco said.

"Thanks," I said, knowing full well that he was kidding. "How did you find me?" Already I was remorphing to wolf. I couldn't let them see I was human and I needed a battle morph.

((Anakin led us here.))

"Who?"

((That guy who crashed his ship in the clearing. Yeah, he was able to find out where his ship was so we guessed you would be here too and we were right, weren't we?))

"But what if you weren't?"

((Stop being so negative, sheesh,)) Marco replied.

I laughed. "To hear that comink frmmuuu…" At that moment, my teeth sharpened and my mouth and nose stretched away from my face.

((What was that?)) Marco asked, innocent.

((Never mind. Let's go.))

The morph complete, I trotted out the door-and into chaos.

There was a short hallway and the room we walked into was bigger than I would have expected. I saw Rachel in grizzly morph, slashing away at a Taxxon.

"Skreeeeeee!" it screeched and popped like a balloon. A foul-smelling liquid puddled on the floor. Instantly, two other Taxxons broke from the fight and descended upon their fallen brother, tearing at oozing, bloated flesh. It was disgusting. Even the dying Taxxon began to chew at its own spilled insides. It was a horrible hungry instinct that couldn't be ignored. Even in death.

((Cassie!)) Rachel yelled and I sprang to join her. ((You're not…?))

((Don't worry,)) I assured her. ((I demorphed in time.))

((That's great, but don't you ever do that again!))

I knew she wasn't really angry. She was just scared and since she doesn't ever show fear, it translates to anger.

I joined in the fight. Jake was somewhere off to my left, engaged in battle with some Hork-bajir. Marco joined him. Tobias was flying overhead, diving down to attack.

I realized something was missing.

((Where's Ax?))


	9. Chapter 9

**Ax**

Fwap!

A Hork-bajir crumpled to the ground. I swung my tail around. Caught another with the flat of my blade.

Fwap!

Another was down.

There were so many. Too many for one Andalite to deal with alone.

Zzzhhmmmm

Heat. From behind.

Thump!

I turned to see two halves of a Hork-bajir lying on the ground. A Dracon beam skittered away. The wounds had been inflicted with a weapon so hot that the controller's blood vessels had been fused and no blood spilled out. It was eerie.

"Come on, it's this way," Anakin said, wielding his lightsaber before him.

I didn't yet know what to think of him. He seemed to be on our side, but he was too battle ready. He reminded me of Rachel.

There was so much I didn't know about him and that made me wary. But he was brave and didn't back down in a fight. That was a quality of a good warrior.

I was impressed at the way he swung that saber in the air. He had quick reflexes. Maybe even quicker than mine. He seemed to know when and where every attack was coming from.

A Hork-bajir fired a Dracon at us.

Tsew! Tsew!

Zzzt! Zzztzzu!

The lightsaber deflected the blasts and they hit the controller who dropped his weapon and fell.

Then the Taxxons came. A dozen of them. I raised my tail blade, ready to strike.

To my surprise, Anakin let out a sigh as if he were bored. "I don't have time for this."

Faster and with more agility than I would have thought possible, he sprang into the air, saber humminging madly, and dropping amid surprised Taxxons.

The nearest one didn't have any time to react before a blue glowing blade sliced it clean through.

The top half slipped off and slithered to the ground. The Jedi cut through another one of the Taxxons before leaping away. I saw what he was doing.

Instantly, the remaining Taxxons forgot all about us and fell on the two lumps of foul flesh and goo. Anakin had distracted them. Now we had a bit more time to find the ship.

"They're even more disgusting than a Hutt," Anakin said as we crept behind one of the almost-finished walls. "And I didn't think that was possible."

I didn't bother to ask what a Hutt was. I didn't think I even wanted to know. I'm still getting used to human emotions, but I thought I detected contempt in his voice. Whatever a Hutt was, it didn't sound good.

The next Hork-bajir we confronted looked surprised, probably because he didn't think he would be fighting a human. Especially not one with a strange, humming weapon in his hands.

All three of us struck.

Tsew!

Fwap!

Zzzmm!

The bolt zizzled, grazing my flesh, but I didn't flinch. Anakin was unharmed. I can't say the same for the Hork-bajir.

"Look, there it is!" Anakin said and sure enough, there it was. A small black ship surrounded by Hork-bajir guards. "Looks like we're through with stealth."

If that was stealth, I wondered what full-out, open battle would be like.

Anakin leaped.

I charged.

He landed on the left wing and the guards spun around in surprise. They didn't have time to raise their weapons before I ploughed into them, hitting at them with the flat of my blade. They tried to slash at me with their wrist blades and a cut above my shoulder leaked blood.

Anakin landed among them, sweeping his saber into a wide arc, slicing through limbs and bodies, leaving a trail of death in its wake.

Two Hork-bajir fired. One bolt was deflected by Anakin's lightsaber. The other hit the side of the ship. It left a sizzling hole and through it I saw a bundle of wires. I could only hope the ship wasn't too badly damaged.

I struck out with my blade but the Hork-bajir moved swiftly and my blade sliced at his side. He howled in pain and dropped the Dracon beam. I took the opportunity to hit him in the head and he was out of the fight.

"Uh, you might need to morph human," Anakin said. "Or else you're not going to fit."

I began to morph as he finished saying it. This ship was our way out. The exit had been blocked by Hork-bajir.

Tsew!

A red bolt of searing energy sailed just past my head. My tail was already shortening and I was helpless in mid-morph.

"I'll cover you," Anakin said, moving to the side of the ship. I stumbled to get behind it. I could hear the humming of a lightsaber.

((So what planet are you from?)) I asked, making conversation as my hooves merged, four legs becoming two.

"Originally from Tatooine, but I live on Coruscant now." He didn't miss a beat, deflecting another bolt as he spoke. His voice sounded calm.

((I have not heard of either of those planets,)) I admitted. I went half-blind as my eye stalks sucked back into my head. A slit opened up in my lower face and teeth began to form.

"Well I am not familiar with this quadrant of the galaxy," was Anakin's reply. Then he turned and leaped into the cockpit.

"They're stealing the ship!"

Uh-oh. More controllers were coming. Mostly Hork-bajir. Some human.

"Hurry and get in!" Anakin yelled, seeing the same as I had.

My morph was nearly complete and I climbed up to sit beside him in the cockpit. There wasn't much room in there for the two of us but with those Hork-bajir coming after us, I wasn't complaining. I quickly finished my morph, the fingers merging into five on each hand. My blue fur vanished into tan skin. I was now human, a strange combination of DNA from Jake, Marco, Rachel, and Cassie.

Another bolt of Dracon fire sliced through the air in front of us.

I watched as Anakin manipulated the controls and then I felt a surge of life flood through the ship.

"Uh, we've got a problem."

That is one thing I really did not want to hear. "What is it?"

"They must have damaged the weapon controls. I can't fire back."

"Then it's best if we leave as soon as possible," I said.

"Yeah," Anakin replied. "Hang on."

More Dracon fire.

I felt the ship lurch.

"Besides that, she's undamaged."

Then the ship lifted from the ground and shot forward.

Straight toward a large door that must have been for loading things. We did not have any weapons to blast our way through. The ship accelerated rapidly.

"Hold on!"

I tried not to flinch as we neared the door. Dracon beams fired at us, sizzled past the wings of the ship, flew overhead.

Then we hit.

My teeth ground together as the whole ship jerked. We had crashed and were going to fall.

But no, we kept on going. The door had been ripped away and we tore through, rising into the sky. And away from the Yeerks.


	10. Chapter 10

**Tobias**

My wing hurt. I smelled burning flesh. A cut on my back oozed blood. But I was alive. And we had saved Cassie. And this time nobody had been captured. It seemed like the perfect victory over Visser Three.

But it wasn't.

I thought about that as the five of us flew into the forest in our various bird of prey morphs. We could no longer see Anakin's ship but we trusted that he and Ax had landed it safely in the woods. Of course, the first time we'd seen Anakin, he'd crashed the ship, but I tried not to think about that. I'm sure that attacking tri-fighters had something to do with it. I think. I hope. Probably.

Anyway, I knew our mission wasn't quite over. Yes, we'd found Cassie before the two-hour time limit. Yes, we'd fought our way out through the visser's guards.

But now the question was: how would Anakin get back home?

I hoped the others had some ideas because I sure didn't. Maybe Ax would, he was probably our best bet.

For some reason, I kept thinking about his brother, Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. He'd died to give us time to escape and fight Visser Three with the morphing powers he'd given us. I'd felt some sort of connection to him and then he had died right before our eyes. Murdered by Visser Three.

I guess that now that another visitor from outer space needed our help, I wanted to do all I could to help him. I felt like, somehow, I could make up for not being able to save Elfangor.

These thoughts all crowded my brain as we sailed through the air. No one said anything so it was a quiet flight. I could just barely see Jake's peregrine falcon ahead of me and to the left. Cassie's osprey was higher than me and to the right. Rachel was soaring in a slight angle that brought her farther from me. We would appear to any human observer as just a bunch of big birds going about our own business and not at all like a group. That would have aroused suspicion.

With my sharp hawk eyes, I scanned the trees below. It was incredible how much I could see. A sparrow's nest in the branches of a wide maple. A rabbit peaking cautiously out of its hole in the ground. The ants crawling along the bark of the trees.

But I was looking for something a bit bigger than that. I swept my gaze across the forest canopy and that's when I saw it. A black shape sitting beside a grove of trees in a small clearing. Two figures standing outside. A blue and white dome on little tread feet.

I angled my wings and dropped below the tree line. Into the field. I landed on the lowest branch of the nearest tree.

Within minutes, the rest of our group had landed and began to demorph into their human selves.

Ax had already demorphed and was once again a blue-furred, four-eyed, scorpion-tailed Andalite. He and Anakin were inspecting the ship.

((Is everything okay?)) I asked.

((It appears that the ship has sustained damage from Dracon beams as we attempted to take it from the construction site,)) Ax replied. ((The weapons system is not functional and there is a slight problem with the navigation control, which is why it took us a little longer to arrive here.))

"Can you fix it?" Jake questioned.

((Yes, Prince Jake, I believe we can, with the proper tools.))

"Then you'd better get started," said Jake. "And Ax? Don't call me 'Prince.'"

((Yes, Prince Jake.))

Jake sighed but let it go.

It was already late and so everyone headed back to their homes. That is, everyone except Ax and me. We stayed to give Anakin company but mostly because we had no homes. Not anymore.

Ax had no problem falling to sleep that night. Me, I stayed perched in a tree, missing the familiarity of my meadow. I was also afraid some owl would come and knock me out of the tree. I know, it's a weird thing to worry about, but when you're a hawk, you have too.

Anakin didn't sleep either. He just lie on his back, gazing up at the stars. I didn't need to wonder what was on his mind. I already knew. It must have been hard for him to be trapped on some alien planet, light years away from home.

The next day we all met right back here. Jake was carrying a plastic bag with several assorted tools he had found at his house: screwdriver, wrench, etc.

Ax announced that it wasn't enough, so he, Rachel, and Jake took a trip to Radio Shack in the mall.

I admit, I wasn't so sure about this. The last time Ax had gone to the mall had been disastrous. Being in such a public place, he couldn't very well go there as himself. He had to morph human. Unfortunately, since Andalites have no mouths, he became obsessed with food, especially one food in particular. Cinnamon buns.

I was afraid this trip to the mall would be a total disaster, but turns out it wasn't so bad. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I swooped low to scan the place.

According to Jake, it had been almost normal. Almost. He, Rachel, and Ax had entered through a different door so as to avoid the temptation of the food court. So Ax had no problem resisting the urge to buy a cinnabon.

He did, however, manage to find the giant salted pretzels at a stand that someone had cleverly placed outside the toy shop. Ax made away with as many free samples as he could get his hands on before the guy pulled the tray away from him.

When they returned, they had new materials that Ax had picked out. Some stuff I didn't even know the purpose of, but I figured I'd find out soon enough.

Anakin began work on his ship right away. Ax helped. I perched on my branch and watched. I could see a big black burn mark on the ship's left side. Or is port side? Whatever.

Anyway, there were also what looked like two ragged holes in the metal where the burn mark was darkest. Through these holes I saw wires, some of them frayed.

((What are you doing?)) I asked out of curiosity and the fact that I had nothing else to do.

"These wires are snapped," Anakin replied. "I have to fuse them back together or else the weapons won't work."

Using a tool recently acquired from Radio Shack, he was twisting one of the wires, bringing both ends together. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

((What about navigation?))

"Oh, that was the easy part," was Anakin's simple answer.

"Okay, so we got his ship back, we've got the right tools to repair it," Marco said. "But aren't you guys forgetting the most important part?"

"What's that?" Cassie asked.

"How is he going to get back home?"

I think we were all silent for about a minute. I honestly didn't know. Truth be told, I hadn't given it much thought. But we'd decided to help Anakin and so we'd have to come up with something.

That's when Ax spoke up. ((There may be a way,)) he said.

"Yeah? And what's that?" Marco wanted to know.

((If he came through a _Sario Rip_ to get here, then it is most likely still active. We can send him back through but we will need to recreate the explosion of energy needed that sent him here in the first place.))

"And how are we going to do that?" Marco asked sceptically.

Ax focused his stalk eyes on him, then glanced around at the rest of us. He had a plan. Sort of. ((We will need to get ourselves a bug fighter.))


	11. Chapter 11

**Anakin**

"Say what?" Marco was the first to voice his doubts.

((Either that or a highly concentrated and controlled explosion,)) Ax said. ((We need to generate enough energy so that Anakin will be sent back to his own universe and the _Sario Rip_ sealed.))

"Yeah, but _steal_ a bug fighter?"

"If you've got a better plan, now's your chance to share," Rachel said sarcastically.

"Well, I'm sure you're all for it," Marco replied. "Anything anywhere near suicidal and Rachel's like 'Where do I sign up?' You know what I think?"

"I really don't care what you think, but I know you'll just say it anyway."

"Well I think this is _insane_!" he ranted. I merely watched the outburst impassively. Years of Jedi training and experience has taught me to conceal my emotions and to let them go. But deep down, I felt anxiety. A fear that I would never see Padme again. Or Obi-Wan. Or anything related to my sector of the galaxy. I was probably thousands of light years away from the nearest familiar star system.

"As much as I don't want to admit it, I think Marco has a point," said Jake. "How are we going to get a bug fighter? And if we did get one, what then?"

For once, Ax seemed at a loss for words. Rachel had a disappointed look on her face, as if she'd been looking forward to taking action. I was surprised to see that Marco, instead of showing any triumph or smugness, seemed down as well. He may not have been all for the plan, but that was because of its immense boldness. A plan like that really could be deemed as 'suicide.'

I think there might have been a dark look on my face as well, for Jake cast me a sympathetic glance and said, "Don't worry. We'll find a way."

I nodded to acknowledge his words. But I wasn't so sure. From what I'd seen so far, this world seemed so primitive. These Earth humans had only made it as far as their own moon. They didn't even possess the technology for light speed! How were they able to go anywhere or do anything with such restrictions?

I decided it was probably about time to prepare the ship. I might be needing it soon, whatever happened. It was pretty much fixed up and ready to go. Except for one thing.

Since we were not aided by any sort of machinery, Jake, Marco, and I had to manually lift R2-D2 into position on the hull of the ship. I had never imagined that a little astrodroid could possibly weigh so much. But after a few moments of grunting and hauling and ignoring his conversational beeping, we managed to slide him in. I'll never take the machinery and technology from my home for granted again.

I had just settled on the grass with my back resting against the ship, when we were interrupted. I looked up and, sure enough, there was Tobias, a red-tailed hawk silhouetted against the bright blue of the sky.

((Hey, Ax-man,)) he called to the Andalite who was casually grazing, grinding up the grass and absorbing it through his hooves. I'd never seen of anything quite like that, but I didn't ask. I'd seen much stranger things than that before.

((Yes, Tobias?)) Ax replied, looking up at the circling bird with one of his stalk eyes.

((You may have just gotten your wish.)) Tobias's voice sounded grim. ((They found us. There's a couple of bug fighters headed this way.))

I could see Ax tense up. Jake and Marco cast each other a look.

"What do you mean, they've found us? What will we do?" Cassie asked. She and Rachel were just inside the tree line.

((I don't know, but they're coming right for us.))

"And there's no way we'll be able to take on two bug fighters," said Marco.

"Always the optimist," Rachel muttered sarcastically.

Jake got to his feet, his expression grave. "Marco's right. We have to leave. We can't fight them off. We can morph and get away, but…" he trailed off, glancing in my direction. "They'll spot your ship."

I nodded, a plan already forming. "But not on the ground," I said. "In the air. They may have tracked us here, but I can lead them away."

"You could get killed," Jake pointed out.

I knew that. Understood. Accepted it even. But I had to give it a try. "Yeah, but this might be my chance, right?"

Jake seemed to know it too. He clapped me on the shoulder. "Good luck, man."

"And to you," I said. "May the Force be with you."

And then we parted.

I could see the Animorphs group together in the trees. Could see them begin to morph. Jake, Marco, Cassie, and Rachel sprouted gray fur that quickly consumed them. They grew tails and long snouts and their ears crept up the sides of their heads. They were becoming the wild canines they called wolves. Tobias was becoming a furred, lumbering animal with a dark face mask, a raccoon. And Ax shrunk into the avian known as a northern harrier. But he would stay well below the tree line.

Jake - at least I think it was Jake - looked back at me with those brown wolf eyes. Then he bounded away. That was the last I would ever see of him.

As for me, I leaped over and into the cockpit of my Jedi Interceptor, sealing it closed.

"Alright, Artoo," I said. "Let's see what we can do."

A quick check and a manipulation of controls-and we were off. The ship thrummed to life and ascended, casting a black shadow upon the field below. I tried to hide the rogue grin that was forming. Anakin Skywalker, fighter pilot and Jedi, was back.

The ship zoomed above the tree line, quickly gaining altitude. As it did so, I caught sight of the approaching bug fighters and knew how they had gotten that name. Each was rounded and black like a beetle, with identical serrated spears on each of their sides.

"I think they know we're here," I said.

Artoo responded with a beep.

"Let's give 'em something to do."

With that, I veered off to the left and at a steady altitude increase, aiming for the clouds and away from where the Animorphs had gone. The two Yeerk ships followed.

A second later, there was a bolt of searing energy that sailed past my right wing. Then another. I twisted around, dodging as a relentless barrage of laser fire began. One of them grazed the wing and R2-D2 squealed in distress.

"Alright, now it's time for them to run," I said with confidence and swung my ship around. They must not have expected that for the fire hesitated. If only for a moment. Another bolt whizzed over the top of the ship.

"Fire," I said softly and did just that. Searing bolts of energy escaped the ship, headed for the bug fighters. One of them swerved out of the way, but the other wasn't so lucky. The shot slammed into it, puncturing the hull. With no control, all it could do was plummet in fire toward the earth.

More shots were fired from the remaining fighter, even harder than the last, shot after shot. I believe I took a hard hit on the wing. The ship dipped suddenly and I scrambled to get back in control.

I did the one thing I hoped would really do damage. I hurled toward the fighter, increasing my speed until I was sure my next shot wouldn't miss.

I fired.

Flames erupted in the space between us and the light was so intense, I had to squint to see the falling debris.

Red lights penetrated the star field in front of me, along with a barrage from fighters. Not bug fighters, though. Tri-fighters.

I was home.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice came frantic over the comm unit.

"What?" I shouted back.

The relief in his voice was obvious. "I thought you'd been killed! Come on, we have to save the Chancellor."

Clearly no time had passed here at all. "Right, I forgot."

A pause. Then, "You _what_?"

I shook my head though he couldn't see me. "Sorry, Master. I'm on my way." I swerved my ship around just as a swarm of vulture droids descended upon his Interceptor…


	12. Epilogue

**Jake**

That's the last we ever saw of him. The four of us who were wolves trotted into the forest, Tobias lumbering along as a raccoon, Ax fluttered from perch to perch.

The ship lifted above the trees, dodging the fire from the Yeerks' bug fighters. One of them was shot out of the sky, falling somewhere beyond our view. The remaining ship kept firing until Anakin's Interceptor zoomed straight for it.

The blast that followed was as bright as the sun that it lit up the day. Shards of destroyed bug fighter rained down through the trees and when I looked up, Anakin was gone. I can only hope he made it back okay.

We raced through the woods, far away from the clearing. We didn't want to be there when the Yeerk cleaning crew arrived. After that day, there would be no evidence of the fight, nothing for any hiker to discover at the edge of the woods.

When we reached a safe enough distance, we demorphed.

Ax and Tobias would stay in the forest. The rest of us returned home. I was exhausted so as soon as I got back, I fell on my bed and pretty much passed out.

The next day was so normal it seemed surreal. I sat at the kitchen table, munching a bowl of cheerios when my mom came in.

"Hi, there," she said. "I haven't seen you for two whole days. What have you been up to?"

It was such a simple question. But the truth was, there was no simple answer. So I lied.

"Oh, you know, teen stuff." Lame, I know. But I figured I'd better be pretty vague about it.

"Of course," she said and left it at that.

A whole week went by with nothing to do but go to school and overall, it was boring. Then came Friday. The phone rang.

I was too focused on my homework to go and get it.

"Hey, Jake!" my brother, Tom, called. "Phone's for you."

When I picked it up, I recognized the voice on the other end and wondered what this could all be about.

"You know that thing we were going to do last week?" Cassie said. "The one we had to postpone? Well, it's back on. Meet me at my house, okay?"

I knew what it was about. I'd almost forgotten the mission we had been planning just as Anakin showed up. "Yeah, be right there." I hung up.

"Who was that?" Tom asked as I headed for the door. He was lounging on the couch in front of the TV.

"Cassie," I said quickly. "We're going to do some homework together. That alright with you?" I asked sarcastically.

"On Friday?"

"There's a big project due in science class," I said and walked out the door.

So it was back on. We'd been planning to hitch a ride in the visser's blade ship to find out where this secret base was. It wouldn't be until we got there that we realized it was somewhere in the arctic and it was a pretty wild, pretty _cold_ adventure. There were seals and polar bears and venber and this Eskimo kid and…well, that's kind of a different story altogether.

Just one of the many that I've got from my life as an Animorph. But I'm used to it by now. At least, mostly.

After all, who else is going to stop a race of parasitic aliens from taking over people's minds but a group of not-so-average, animal-morphing _insane_ kids?


End file.
